Massive cliffhanger. So much that I thought my podcatcher had missed the last episode and I went searching for it, only to find out it didn't actuallyMassive cliffhanger. So much that I thought my podcatcher had missed the last episode and I went searching for it, only to find out it didn't actually exist. Other than this, more great sports/sci-fi mashup from Sigler....more

One of the most interesting and engaging biography/autobiography accounts I've read. I am not a huge Agassi fan but you don't need to be in order to fOne of the most interesting and engaging biography/autobiography accounts I've read. I am not a huge Agassi fan but you don't need to be in order to find this book engrossing. As a player possibly best remembered for his "Image is Everything" campaign, this account of Agassi's life reveals much of what lies beneath the often-misleading surface of the confident and sometimes arrogant champion-level tennis player. Eye-opening and in-depth account of how Agassi, who absolutely hated tennis ever since he was a young boy, battled his own inner demons as well as his opponents on his journey to become a multi-slam champion and one of the best players of his time. A must-read for tennis fans, and for those who enjoy well-written biographies or autobiographies....more

This review is of the audiobook version of the novel that you can download for free at podiobooks.com.

Sigler's futuristic galaxy-spanning work is awasThis review is of the audiobook version of the novel that you can download for free at podiobooks.com.

Sigler's futuristic galaxy-spanning work is awash with creative and instantly-memorable alien races. He combines them with the very-familiar aspects of American football and the mafia, sets the whole thing on planets strewn throughout space, and ends up with a hit sports-action and coming-of-age novel that is sure to please sports and sci-fi fans alike.

Although I enjoyed this book quite a bit, the protagonist (Quentin Barnes) felt fairly two-dimensional. In the first half of the novel, it was almost painfully so, as he struggled to reconcile his racist teachings of the Purist Nation planets of his youth with the reality that a football team made of multiple alien races must not only play together, but respect each other and treat each other as equals. I think Sigler goes over the top a bit, but I understand this novel is also intended to be a YA book, where such exaggeration is pretty standard (although I'm hoping in the YA version, the explicit language is cleaned up).

If you're not a football fanatic, you will still get caught up in the action and the suspense of the novel, but you might find yourself Googling some of the specific football terms and formations to get a better idea of exactly what Sigler is describing. A basic understanding of the sport is really all that's required to enjoy the novel, though.